How Can I Turn Off Automatic Updates for Adobe?

By Dustin Eves

Programs by Adobe will usually automatically search for and install software updates using an application called \"Adobe Updater.\" This application can appear intermittently and attempt to search for updates to Adobe programs such as the company's Creative Suite programs and Acrobat Reader. These update searches sometimes appear at inopportune times, like when a computer user is in the middle of another task. For this reason, it can be helpful to know how to disable Adobe Updater.

Turn Off Adobe Updater While Connected to the Internet

Step 1

Open Adobe Updater. On a Windows-based PC, double-click on the AdobeUpdater.exe file that can usually be found in \"...\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Adobe\\Updater #\", where the \"...\" represents the letter name of the hard drive that Adobe programs are installed on and \"#\" could be any number depending on the version of Adobe Updater installed.On a Mac OS PC, the file contains the words \"Adobe Updater,\" and can be found in \"/Applications/Utilities/Adobe Utilities/Adobe Updater#\", where \"#\" could be any number depending on the version of Adobe Updater installed.

Step 2

Click \"Preferences,\" a link near the left side of the update window.

Step 3

Uncheck the box next to \"Automatically Check for updates,\" then click \"OK.\" Automatic updates should now be disabled.

Turn Off Adobe Updater Without an Internet Connection

Step 1

Open AdobeUpdaterPreferences.dat in a text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit. On a Windows-based computer, the file can be found in \"...\\Documents and Settings\\[username]\\Local Settings\\Application Data\\Adobe\\Updater#\" in Windows XP or \"...\\[username]\\AppData\\Local\\Adobe\\Updater#\" in Windows Vista, where \"...\" is the hard drive, [username] is the name the program is installed under, and \"#\" is any number.On a Mac OS computer, the file is located in \"/Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Updater#/\", where [username] is the name the program is installed under and \"#\" is any number.

Step 2

Add the tag0anywhere between theandtags in the text editor. If1already exists in the file, simply change the number 1 to a number 0 and do not add any new tags to the file.

Step 3

Save the file and close the text editor. The Adobe Updater should now be disabled.

Tips & Warnings

When saving AdobeUpdaterPreferences.dat, be sure to select \"Save\" and not \"Save As...\" since this will sometimes cause two separate copies of the file to be stored on the computer.